An Oxfordshire-based construction company has been fined £120,000 after a carpenter died when he fell through an unsafe first floor while carrying out refurbishment work.
W G Carter Limited, of Appleton, was sentenced following the death of 59-year-old Richard “Felix” Roper, who fell from height while working at a domestic property in Gloucestershire.
Mr Roper, a father of two, had been carrying out work on the first floor of Manor Barn House, Nether Westcote, on 30 August 2022, where extensive repairs were being undertaken to replace rotten floor joists and floorboards.
He had been tasked with replacing damaged floor joists while other workers removed sections of flooring in the same area. Large parts of the first-floor structure had been stripped back, leaving open gaps between joists. In addition, some joists were either missing altogether or had not been secured.
It was while working in these conditions, Mr Roper fell from the first floor to the concrete ground floor below. He sustained severe head injuries and died in hospital the following day.
A joint investigation by the HSE and Gloucestershire Police found that the work at height had not been properly planned, appropriately supervised, or carried out safely. The investigation identified several serious failings. Workers, including Mr Roper, were able to access areas of the first floor where flooring and structural supports had been removed, despite there being insufficient measures in place to prevent falls. At the same time, other workers were continuing to remove floorboards, creating and increasing the risk of falling from height.
Following the incident, HSE served a Prohibition Notice, stopping further work at height until adequate safety measures had been introduced.
The investigation found that W G Carter Limited had failed to adequately plan the work and implement suitable measures to prevent workers from falling. After the incident, the company adopted a safer method of working, installing floor joists from below using appropriate work-at-height equipment and preventing access to the first floor while the work was being undertaken.
W G Carter Limited, of 81A Eaton Road, Appleton, Oxfordshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005. The company was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,247.
This prosecution highlights a fundamental work at height principle: if work is not properly planned and controlled, conditions on site can change rapidly and create significant risks. In this case, workers were exposed to unprotected openings and an increasingly unstable working platform as floor structures were removed. Organisations undertaking refurbishment and structural repair projects should ensure robust planning, effective supervision and dynamic risk assessment arrangements are in place, particularly where the work environment evolves throughout the project. The case also reinforces the importance of considering safer alternative methods of work and preventing access to hazardous areas until suitable controls have been implemented. Ultimately, work at height remains one of the most significant causes of workplace fatalities, and preventing falls depends on ensuring risks are identified, controlled and monitored at every stage of the job.
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